Solve problems

in
low voltage AC circuits
Week 6

Slide 1 of 41
All writing in BLUE is examinable
All writing in RED
is NOT examinable.

Slide 2 of 41
In AC circuits (S or P), three forms of
power are used;
1. true power (often called real power),
2. apparent power,
3. reactive power.
Each have common properties,
but also they have unique properties.

Slide 3 of 41
True power (TP);
1. V x I [watts].
2. power in a pure resistor on AC.
3. power in a DC circuit.
4. related to apparent power,
TP = AP x cos(f)

(f) is the phase difference between V and I

Slide 4 of 41
Apparent power (AP);
1. V x I [VA] called volt.amp
2. power in any AC component.
3. related to true power,
AP = TP / cos(f)
(f) is the phase difference between V and I

Slide 5 of 41
Reactive power (RP);
1. V x I [VAR] (called volt.amp reactive)
2. wasted power in C or L.
3. related to other powers via the power
triangle.
This power does nothing useful

Slide 6 of 41
When a capacitor is in an AC circuit, it uses energy
(voltage) to charge up, then releases (almost !) exactly the
same energy back to the supply. The capacitor juggles
voltage.
The supply has to provide it,
but it is returned.
No useful work is done
by the capacitor.

This does NOT mean that capacitors are useless.

Slide 7 of 41
When an inductor is in an AC circuit, it uses energy to build
up a magnetic field, then releases (almost !) exactly the
same energy back to the supply. The inductor juggles
current.
The supply has to provide it,
but it is returned.
No useful work is done by
the inductor

This does NOT mean inductors are useless.

Slide 8 of 41
Excess Reactive power is a problem, as it
requires thicker cabling (due to more
current being needed) for no extra income.

Electrical
tariff is
based on
TP (ie kWhr)

Slide 9 of 41
Why have components that
do no useful work
and
just juggle energy ?

Slide 10 of 41
All three power forms are linked in a power
triangle.

From trig. there are multiple relationships between all these

properties.

Slide 11 of 41
sin(f) = RPxAP TP = AP cos(f) TP = RP tan(f)
cos(f) = TPxAP AP = RP sin(f) AP = cos (f)xTP
tan(f) = RPxTP RP = AP sin(f) RP = TP tan(f)
Use your Trig knowledge to work these out.
DO NOT try to remember these formula.

Slide 12 of 41
The power triangle is often used upside
down to show the leading / lagging nature
of the reactive power.

Slide 13 of 41
 Complete
WS 211-23-V6
Power Triangles

Slide 14 of 41
Reactive power, while it does no useful
work (ie cannot heat water, drive a motor), makes the
power supply provide AP for it.
Reactive power requires more current (inductor) or more
voltage (capacitor), thus apparent power is higher.
inductor → same voltage x more current= more AP
capacitor → same current x more voltage = more AP

Slide 15 of 41
Reactive power must be paid for ($$$ to the
supply authority !) but does no useful work for
the consumer.
An efficient circuit
(load) has as low
an RP as practical,
but often not zero.

Slide 16 of 41
In the power triangle, the size of the RP
equates directly to the size of (f), (the
circuit's phase difference).

Slide 17 of 41
cos(f) is defined as the Power Factor (PF)

If f = 10° (small angle) cos(f) is large (0.98)

If f = 70° (large angle) cos(f) is small (0.34)

The power factor can

ONLY
be between 1 and >0.

Slide 18 of 41
The Power Factor (PF) is also;
PF = TP/AP
PF is only a number, it has no units, but TP
must be in [W] and AP in [VA].

Power Factor is a big issue for users of large amounts of

electrical energy. Houses are generally not an issue, as a
capacitive PF problem in one house, will be cancelled by an
inductive PF problem in another house.

Slide 19 of 41
Power is the rate at which energy is used.
There are 3 AC power forms, each having
it's own properties.
True Power → [watts]
Apparent Power → [volt.amp]
Reactive Power → [volt.amp.reactive]

Slide 20 of 41
Electrical power in a series or parallel
circuits is always simply added.

Slide 21 of 41
Energy is the ability of a “device” or
system to do work.
Electrical energy does work in the form of;
1. heat (hot water system)
2. light (globes, etc)
3. mechanical (motors)
4. chemical (battery charger).

Slide 22 of 41
Two terms used with the supply or use of
electrical energy are;
1. demand,
2. consumption.
A 1kW heater “demands” (needs or requires) 1000W for
every second it is running. If the heater has been on for 1
hour is has consumed (used) 1kWhr of energy.
consumption = demand x time
kWhr = kW x hours

Slide 23 of 41
If the demand of a load fluctuates, the
consumption value will not correctly
identify the load's needs.

In this situation;
Average demand = 1kW (average value of whole day)
Peak demand = 6kW (600% higher than average)
Consumption = 1kW x 24 Hr = 24kWHr

Slide 24 of 41
In this situation;
Supply cables need to be 6X bigger than most of the day's
current needs require, just because of a few times of peak
load.

Slide 25 of 41
Domestic electrical consumption is
measured in kWHr, as …..

….. the peak demand is not usually

significantly higher.
Slide 26 of 41
Industrial demands can have very large
peak values compared to the average
demand.

Red pointer is pushed to peak value by black pointer, but

stays in place.

Slide 27 of 41
A peak demand meter records the highest
value in a particular time period.

Slide 28 of 41
True power is measured with a Wattmeter.

Apparent power is usually calculated from

supply I and supply V measurements.
Slide 29 of 41
Reactive power is usually found from
values of supply I and V over the C or L.

There are actual VAR meters, some with a leading/lagging

power factor indications.
Slide 30 of 41
Power factor is commonly measured in
industry, but not usually in domestic
installations (as the general consumer cannot correct
a poor power factor and is usually totally unaware of the
power factor concept.).

Slide 31 of 41
A low power factor is a problem because it
requires supply cables to be larger than
necessary and …..

…. the electrical energy efficiency is also

lower than it could be.
Slide 32 of 41
 Typical power factors of various kinds of loads:
Incandescent lighting, 1.0.
Single-phase motors, 1⁄20 to 1 hp, 0.55 to 0.75
3-phase motors, 1 to 10 hp, 0.75 to 0.91
Small heating apparatus, practically 1
Arc furnaces, 0.80 to 0.90.
Electric welding transformers, 0.50 to 0.70

Slide 33 of 41
Local supply authority require power factor
to be above a certain value.

Evoenergy requires that power

factor be greater than 0.90. A
lower power factor can be
improved by installing
Power Factor Correction (PFC)
equipment sometimes called a
capacitor bank. The PFC
equipment is housed in a metal
cabinet, similar to the one that
houses the main electrical
switchboard and is often
located in or near your main
switch board.

Slide 34 of 41
A low power factor can be caused by;
1. too much capacitance or,
2. too much inductance.
Commonly the problem is #2
(eg motors have inductance
and they are very common.).
This is corrected by adding
a capacitor/capacitor bank.

Slide 35 of 41
Too much capacitance is corrected by
adding inductors (often a “synchronous capacitor”
or “synchronous condenser” is used = an unloaded
running motor).

Slide 36 of 41
Too much inductance
is corrected by
adding capacitors.

Where are the inductors in a

transmission line ?

(sremrofsnarT)

Slide 37 of 41
The power factor is normally not a static
value. (constantly changing with changing load values)

Modern PFC equipment is controlled to

match the dynamic pf value.

Slide 38 of 41
 Complete
WS 211-24-V6
Power Factor

Slide 39 of 41
 Complete
WS 211-26-V6
Power Factor Improvement

Slide 40 of 41
 Complete
WS 211-25-V6
Revision Sheet Week 6

Slide 41 of 41